Should Teenagers have Jobs?

         In my third quarter book Please Ignore Vera Dietz, Vera has a job at Padago Pizza as a pizza deliverer. Quite a few times throughout the novel, Vera talks about her feelings about having a job and how her and her dad have pretty different opinions on it. Vera's dad forces her to have a job because he is just that kind of dad. He says he wants her to have responsibility and be able to take care of herself. Vera was very annoyed with her dad for a long time about this. He pushed jobs on her by picking up applications for her all the time. He gave her lectures often about the importance of having a job in a bad economy. Vera was in love with a pet shop in her town. She loved the family who owned it and taking care of the animals. All she wanted to do was volunteer there--she didn't care about the money. Her dad just always said that volunteering won't teach you anything and that she needs to learn the value of a dollar. Finally, however, Vera gave in. Her dad promised her a car if she got a job. Every teenager wants a car, so she found one. Another reason Vera decided to get a job was because she didn't want to end up like her mother--leaving her family to marry someone rich just for security financially. Her mother also stripped for a few months to make ends meet and all Vera knew is she NEVER wanted to end up like that. Throughout the novel,  Vera never really complained about her job. She liked it and met a lot of people with it. It also got her minds off Charlie when he died which ended up helping her a lot.
       I know that teenagers having jobs is a very controversial issue for many reasons. I, myself, have a job. I balance a job, school, sports, extracurriculars, and social life and I have yet to have too much of a real struggle at all. I enjoy the extra money and I enjoy my job itself. On the other hand, a friend of mine's dad WILL NOT let her have a job. He says now is the time for studying and schoolwork for your future--you will work the rest of your life. On the third hand, I know people who need a job to make ends meet with themselves or even for their families. So it's all a very debatable topic. I know some people think that teenagers having jobs ends up with unreliable service and their workplace. What do you think? Do you think schoolwork is more important in high school especially? Do you think teenagers are unreliable employees? Do jobs at a young age teach lessons or just hinder the "good life" of being a teenager?  Here are a few links discussing this topic:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/education/entries/2006/04/28/when_teens_have.html


http://voices.yahoo.com/5-reasons-why-teenagers-after-school-331714.html

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/employment/2005-04-06-teen-work-usat_x.htm